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Who Was The Best Team of The 2010s?

When it comes to being considered the best–the bar is set high.

Over the course of the past 10 seasons, there have been undefeated seasons, there have been back-to-back state champs, there have been pitching staffs loaded with Division-I talent and pro pitchers. But there can only be one team considered the best.

I have watched a lot of baseball, but I didn’t trust my own instinct so I solicited the help of some trusted sources to put together my definitive list of the best teams of the decade. To make it a bit easier, we narrowed it down to teams that have won a Long Island Championship, because plenty of talented teams have made it to the finish line only to come up short. We also did not list any school more than once on purpose because many of the back-to-back champions featured the same core (i.e. Center Moriches, Wantagh, Kellenberg, Massapequa).

Without further ado, here we go. Let’s start with the honorable mentions

2011 St. Dominic Bayhawks,  2011 & 2015 Chaminade Flyers, 2015 Division Blue Dragons, 2017 Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats, 2018 Rocky Point Eagles, 2019 Connetquot Chiefs

11. 2019 Chaminade Flyers (Record: 16-4)

This team was even better than their record suggests, because they simply appeared to lose focus towards the end of the regular season after they built up a nice cushion. They bounced back by running the table in the postseason. The team was led by a group of veterans with George Washington-commit Logan Koester leading the charge. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round following an unblemished season with a record of 7-0 and a microscopic ERA of 0.44 over 46.1 IP. He was named the Axcess Pitcher of the Year for his accomplishments, which included the victory in the clinching game against St. Anthony’s. Despite his remarkable season, he was far from the only contributor. His co-ace, Bobby Dahl was untouchable all season and was the winning pitcher in Coach Pienkos’ 600th career victory and Game 1 of the Championship Series. Additionally, Aidan Larkin, who’s now at Hofstra, was one of the best hitters in the conference all season and a force on the base paths. Paul Orbon (St. John’s), Jack Santini, Sawyer Duarte and JR McCloskey were other players that helped pave the way to their 16th Catholic League Championship which is four more than the next most.

Quick Note: The 2011 Chaminade team just missed this cut but I have to give this team the edge due to the presence of a draft pick. That team upset a loaded St. Dominic team that featured 10 college players (Steven Goldstein, Rob Galligan, Nick Batas, Tommy Grillo, Spencer Biello, Vinny Orlando, Brandon Lubrano, Yonah Perline, Lou Lambros and Nick Girardi).

10. 2015 Mattituck Tuckers (Record: 27-1)

I did not personally watch this team but they deserve to be on this list. They were led by remarkable seasons by Joe Tardif, Chris Dwyer and Marcos Perivolaris. It was their first State Championship in the school’s 95-year history. Their only loss came in their 16th game of the season against Babylon by one-run. They went on to sweep Port Jefferson in the playoffs and Babylon in the County Finals. They shutout Oyster Bay in the Class B Long Island Championship behind a two-hit shutout by Perivolaris in a 5-0 win. It was their third LIC in five seasons. In Binghamton, they defeated Ogdensburg and Livonia to claim their trophy. Livonia entered with a record of 25-2, so they were no pushovers. Steve Decaro was named Coach of the Year in his finest coaching job of his remarkable career.

9. 2017 Kellenberg Firebirds (Record: 17-4)

The pitching staff was voted by our followers as the best of the decade. Their three aces of Chris Cappas (Pittsburgh) , Jason Diaz (Miami) and Andrew Williams (Adelphi) combined to have an ERA under 1.00. Cappas was named CHSAA Player of the Year while Diaz was just as good on the mound finishing with a 0.55 ERA over 38 innings including a complete game shutout against St. John the Baptist to clinch the championship. The offense was effective as well with players like Terrence Murray (Fordham), C Jonah Katz, SS Andrew Russell, 3B Tom Paulich, Jack Delaney and Nick Quatromani. They were named Axcess Baseball’s Team of the Year for 2017.

8. 2019 Massapequa Chiefs (Record: 19-4)

This is their third of back-to-back-to-back Long Island Champion teams and you can make the case that any of them deserve to be on this list. I will go with this team just because it has the most high-end players in my opinion. Also, that Long Island Championship game against Connetquot was nuts. Trailing 5-0 in the fourth inning, they mounted a furious comeback. Nick Schwartz wound up hitting the go-ahead HR in the bottom of the sixth inning to send the fans into a frenzy. With the bases loaded, two out and a 3-0 out, Kenny Galvin gave everyone a scare but in typical Chiefs fashion, they sidestepped trouble and a line drive down the right field line ended up in the fielder’s glove. With Division-I players like Johnny Castagnozzi (North Carolina), Travis Honeyman (Boston College), Nick Schwartz (St. John’s) and Wade Kelly (Coastal Carolina), this was a team with more fire-power than they’ve had since 2006.

7. 2012 Holy Trinity Titans (Record: 18-9)

When people talk about the ‘golden era’ of the Catholic League, this is what they were referring to. It seemed every team had three or four Division-I players but Holy Trinity, led by Robert Malandro, had six. They possessed arguably the most intimidating pitcher in New York–southpaw flame-thrower Alex Robinson who won Gatorade Player of the Year. He went 7-0 with a 0.41 ERA over 51 innings with 109 strikeouts. He wound up with the Minnesota Twins after playing collegiate ball at Maryland, thanks to a 97 MPH heater. They also had Jack Parenty (Stony Brook), Joey Devito (Fordham), Pat Madigan (Northeastern) and Chris Hardardt (Hofstra). They defeated No. 1 St. Anthony’s by the score of 9-7 to capture the Championship. Malandro, a legendary Head Coach, wound up with five titles during his 30-year tenure.

6. 2016 West Islip Lions (Record: 20-6)

If not for Ian Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, there’s a good chance West Islip captures the New York State Class AA Championship. They had the best 1-2 combination on Long Island with James Kory (21-3 career record) and Ray Weber. They were so dominant that they defeated East Meadow, 16-0, in the Long Island Championship at Farmingdale State College. Weber was lights out all season, winning a Long Island-leading 10 games. Catcher Nick Valenti paced their offense with a batting average of .546 and 38 RBI. Their only close call in the playoffs came against Smithtown East when Jimmy Mattera made a brilliant threw and threw-out the potential tying run at the plate. Jake Guercio (Fordham) hit in all 26 games.

5. 2013 Ward Melville Patriots (Record: 20-6)

Some have said this is the best rotation they’ve ever seen. When you can trot out a future Major League in Anthony Kay, that went the entire 2012 season without giving up a run over 55 innings–that’s a damn good start. Massapequa faced them in the Long Island Championship and you can’t blame them for feeling fortunate that they didn’t have to face Kay. They did, however, get to face Chris Cepeda who wound up firing a 64 pitch complete game shutout in a 1-0 victory for the Patriots. It was one of the quickest games you’ll ever see, with Alex Cosenza matching him pitch-for-pitch for most of the game. Cepeda went 15-2 in his career with all games being a complete game except for one. They also had Greg Coman (Harvard)–who went 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA–Joe Flynn (Princeton) and Kevin Wiltse (Hartford). They wound up losing 2-0 in the State semifinals to St. John’s-commit Scott Blewett who got drafted in the 2nd round.

4. 2016 Wantagh Warriors (Record: 25-5)

I remember this team well, I think they surprised a lot of people with their run because they did not enter the postseason as the favorites. They were actually the No. 7 seed. Why pick this group over their 2017 or 2018 group that also won it all? For starters, this was the team that won the Class A New York State Championship. Secondly, I asked Anthony Fontana which team was the best and he pointed to this group because “that’s when we had everyone”. That team had Division-I talent all over the field notably him, Anthony D’Onofrio, Jimmy Joyce, Will O’Brien and Trevor Fagan. They also had an All-State pitcher in Bobby Hegarty who bested future draft pick Sam Kessler in an intense Long Island Championship game at the PAL Stadium. They went on to defeat previously-undefeated Queensbury in the semifinals (just as they did in 1998) on a walk-off home run by Joyce. Hegarty then came back and got the win in the finals against Williamsville East as they overcame a 5-1 deficit. That team played true to the name on the front of their jersey and continued that wave for the next two seasons.

3. 2013 Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms (Record: 27-0)

I will admit I wasn’t watching much high school baseball in 2013 but I do remember the mythical feel this team had as they approached their undefeated season. They had the most menacing pitcher on Long Island that season in Jack Piekos. He was 11-0 with a 0.38 ERA. He threw to Dan Campanelli–whom Moccio called a “crazy, intense competitor”–and Salvatore Geraci who was described as a “gamer” and “scrappy” by Moccio. They paved the way for Luke Olsson, who was the catcher the next year. They defeated Clarke in the Long Island Championship in 2013 before heading upstate to Utica to finish off the perfect season with two more victories. I actually remember driving to my job in Patchogue that summer and seeing a huge sign that said “Congratulations to Bayport-Blue Point: 2013 undefeated State Champions 27-0” and thinking to myself ‘wow I need to get back involved with baseball and that was really a seminal moment for me.

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2. 2010 Lindenhurst Bulldogs (Record: 26-1)

26-1 in Class AA is insane. When I was a senior at Centereach in 2009, we lost to them in the playoffs when we were the No. 5 seed and they were No. 12. They had no business being ranked that low, this team was loaded and they crushed us. As it turns out, it was just a prelude for what was to come in 2010. Led by Clemson-commit Jon McGibbons–who wound up getting drafted by the Seattle Mariners–and Carl Yastrzemski Award winner Jimmy Briggs who hit 13 home runs, this offense was impossible to contain. Their only loss came in walk-off fashion against Connetquot. Pitching staff was led by 10-0 Rich Vrana. They defeated Longwood, 5-4, in the Suffolk County Championship and they Calhoun, 4-2, in the Long Island Championship.

1. 2019 Center Moriches Red Devils (Record: 26-0)

This was pure domination. They not only pulled off the improbable undefeated season, but they did it the year after capturing the Class B State Championship, which means they were able to avoid the dreaded championship hangover. They also won the State Championship game by the score of 11-1. I watched this team a lot and they were the best team on Long Island this year hands down. Regardless of who they play, you have to look at their talent on the field. At the end of the day, they have college players up-and-down their lineup. They had two of the most underrated pitchers on the island in Andres Auffant and Matt Alifano. They had a pro prospect, David Falco, that barely pitched all season that touched 95 MPH in a scrimmage. They had two catchers that are playing in college (Alec Maag and Brad Sakellarides), they had a freshman that probably is one of the best players in his class (Leyton Pulsipher). First baseman Rob Copozzi has the most prodigious power on the island right now. There was no way to find a hole in this team. They cruised past every one of their opponents and even had a game they led 18-0 in the second inning…against a perennial playoff team and league rival. Facing Theo Farynick in the Long Island Championship, some thought they would meet their match but they cruised to that one as well. For me, this is the Team of the Decade.

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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